Investigation reveals Hezbollah’s secret naval unit threatening Israel’s coast and shipping

The intelligence blog Intelli Times published details about a clandestine Hezbollah naval unit following the interrogation of Imad Amhaz, a naval officer in the organization who was captured in northern Lebanon during an operation by Israel’s Shayetet 13 commandos unit and brought to Israel.

According to the investigation, Hezbollah’s overseas naval activity operates under “Operations Unit 1200.” The unit functions under civilian cover, with funding and direction from Iran’s Quds Force, and is tasked with building both offensive and defensive naval capabilities.

Its parent unit is “Unit 7900” (the coastal missile unit), which is currently capable of striking targets at ranges of hundreds of kilometers, including gas rigs and maritime shipping routes. Iran provides the unit with technological support and training for radar operators and identification systems.

The report revealed that the organization utilizes the Lebanese Civilian Maritime Institute, “Marseti,” to train its operatives. Amhaz, who joined Hezbollah in 2007 after training in Iran and serving as a radar operator, studied at the institute as a civilian student alongside other operatives, exploiting civilian access and equipment to plan military activity.

According to the report, the naval project was managed under the direct guidance of Hezbollah's former secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah. Other senior figures involved included Fuad Shukr (Hezbollah's chief of staff, who was eliminated in July 2024) and Ibrahim Qubaisi (head of the missile array, killed in September 2024). Ali Abd al-Hassan Nur al-Din, Shukr’s son-in-law, is identified as the key surviving figure responsible for the organization’s “secret naval portfolio.”

The investigation report noted cooperation between the naval unit and other Hezbollah units, including Quds Force “Unit 8030” (weapons development), “Unit 4400” (smuggling) and “Unit 910” (external operations). It also notes that Hezbollah is attempting to adopt a “container warfare” model, enabling the use of civilian merchant fleets for smuggling, concealment, and even the surprise launch of coastal missiles, drones or unmanned vessels from shipping containers.